Coronavirus

Ohio has more of an idea about what this November’s election will look like now that the state’s election chief has handed down a directive outlining details to Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections. 

The state is rolling out a new public health advisory system to identify counties experiencing a higher spread of coronavirus. Gov. Mike DeWine hopes the new notification system can drive policies to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The Ohio Department of Education is unveiling statewide guidelines for how schools can reopen in the fall during the coronavirus pandemic with Gov. Mike DeWine saying the plan has the goal of bringing kids back to the classroom.

Cities throughout Ohio are starting to require people to wear masks or face coverings in public spaces. And Ohioans are working to make sure masks are available to everyone who needs them.

A collection of health and human services advocates are urging state leaders to immediately work on revamping the unemployment compensation system in order to avoid another backlog in the future.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) says the state continues to see a concerning spike in cases of COVID-19. The governor says people must take social distancing seriously and wear masks before things get worse.

The state’s more than 600 school districts are waiting for the Ohio Department of Education to release its COVID-19 guidance on how to operate in the new school year. But with the first day of classes less than two months away, many districts are making their own plans as they wait.

The state health department is reporting the highest daily increase in total COVID-19 cases in Ohio since April. Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) says they're seeing what he calls a "worrisome" increase among a certain demographic.

School districts around the state are preparing for what the next academic year will look like for students, teachers, and staff. But administrators say they're waiting for the state to give them guidelines before they can put those plans into action.

Democrats in the Ohio House say lawmakers need to deal with some important business this summer instead of taking time off. 

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) says it is imperative for the state to ward off a spike of COVID-19 as the economy begins to reopen, one way of accomplishing that, according to DeWine, is to increase coronavirus testing.

Most schools say they plan to restart learning in two months but a coalition of school administrators and teachers from the state's largest city school districts say they're waiting on a slew of decisions from Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Education ranging from funding to operations.

The FDA has revoked permission for hydroxychloroquine to be used as a treatment for COVID-19, after the drug had been publicly touted by President Donald Trump. That leaves the state of Ohio with a stockpile of the drug amounting to millions of pills.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) says the state as a whole has seen a steady trend in decreasing cases of COVID-19, but he’s warning of possible trouble in southwest Ohio which is not following that trend.

As doctors around the country have expressed concerns that people are avoiding hospitals due to the pandemic, Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) is urging Ohioans to continue seeking care for other ailments outside of the coronavirus. 

State lawmakers approved hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to help local governments recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The director of the Ohio Department of Health, who drew national praise and criticism from some members of the state legislature for the state's pandemic shutdowns, has resigned.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 have continued to increase at a low rate, but health experts are urging people to still take the virus seriously even as more businesses reopen.

The state is allowing the reopening of larger entertainment venues on June 10, including movie theaters, museums, and zoos. Health officials say companies will have to look over every facet of their venue in order to comply with the protocols.

A proposal from the Ohio House that would require people with COVID-19 give consent to contact tracing in writing has been rejected by the Senate. That sends the bill to a conference committee.

The state is continuing to build up its contact tracing infrastructure through a partnership with local health departments as health officials tout the importance of matching contact tracing with testing to fight the coronavirus.

As local health departments try to contain the spread of coronavirus by tracking down those who might have been exposed to people with COVID-19, the Ohio House passed a bill requiring health officials to get written permission from people before beginning the contact tracing process.

The leader of the Ohio House of Representatives says he cannot compel members to practice some of the safety measures recommended by Ohio’s health director to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Ohio is taking the first steps to lift the more than two month old ban on visits to some long-term care facilities. Officials says they want to expand this in stages.

Residents at long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, make up more than three-quarters of the deaths related to COVID-19 in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine says he is now ramping up efforts to combat this problem with a new strategy.

Gov. Mike DeWine changed his initial mask mandate as a condition of businesses reopening, instead requiring masks for employees but not for customers. But while mask wearing has become something of a partisan symbol, DeWine said it shouldn’t be.

House Minority Caucus Leader Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) is criticizing the state's plan to address racial health disparities during the coronavirus pandemic saying the strategy Gov. Mike DeWine is taking is good but not enough, calling it "too little, too late."